Maximize the Impact of Donor Advised Funds
Create Your Legacy with WWF
You know donor advised funds (DAFs) for their convenience and simplicity. But have you considered taking your donor advised fund one step further to build a lasting legacy at WWF?
Here are two simple options to ensure future support:
1. Name World Wildlife Fund as a beneficiary of your fund.
You can do this at the time you create the fund, or if you already have one, contact your fund administrator to complete a change of beneficiary form. Many donor advised fund agreements allow you to select one or more beneficiaries to receive the fund’s remaining assets on your death. We can use the remaining funds to support our mission.
You may have the option of naming World Wildlife Fund the beneficiary of the entire account or a percentage of the fund.
2. Create a family legacy of giving.
Name your loved ones as your successor to continue recommending grants to charitable organizations, such as WWF. This way, the funds can grow to support future family philanthropy. Families can build a tradition of giving and teach their children the values of philanthropy by involving them in the decisions about which grants to recommend.
How It Works—Example
Mark and Dana establish a $25,000 donor advised fund with a community foundation. The couple receives a federal income tax charitable deduction for the amount of the gift. After researching community needs with the foundation’s staff, Mark and Dana recommend grants for WWF (which they’ve supported for years) and a local charity. The foundation presents the charities with checks from the Patricia Fund, which Mark and Dana named in honor of Dana’s mother. Mark and Dana also name WWF as the beneficiary to receive the account balance after their lifetimes..
Tip: Convert Complex Assets
Donor advised funds may be able to accept certain gifts of real estate, tangible personal property, or business interests that WWF may not be able to accept directly.
Stay Up to Date
Review your donor advised fund investment strategy regularly, just as you would to maintain any other investment. You may also want to consider socially responsible investments—those that meet the highest environmental, social, and governance standards.
Unique Strategies Using Your Fund
Name a donor advised fund as a beneficiary of all or part of your retirement plan assets. Not only will your donor advised fund receive these assets tax-free, but you can also name your loved ones as successor advisors to continue your legacy of giving.
Divide and multiply your legacy. Perhaps your loved ones have differing charitable passions. Consider dividing your donor advised fund into multiple accounts or creating separate accounts—one for each loved one. That way, after your passing, each successor can create their own legacy of giving by recommending grants to the causes that are important to them.
Recommend recurring gifts. You can set up a plan to recommend grants to WWF on an ongoing monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual basis.
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